Memorial Cup: Wheat Kings dethroned in "disappointing" loss to the Knights

This tournament has been one that has started the same every game. The WHL team comes out playing throwing the body around early, but that didn't get the team very far.

After taking an early penalty, the Wheat Kings found themselves killing a penalty with the Knights top line on the ice. They made no mistake, when Mitch Marner send a feed to Matthew Tkachuk, which quickly was sent to Christian Dvorak in front of the net.

Like he has all year, Dvorak made no mistake in scoring.

"All four lines were good tonight, we used our speed and we scored some goals," said Knights Head Coach Dale Hunter after the game in his post-game press conference. "Our defensemen helped a lot moving the puck.

"I was happy to see the [second line] moved the puck well and went to the net - they worked hard for it."

After going up 1-0, the Wheat Kings looked to be be a position to keep the game close but instead, they shut-down and London ran away with the game.

Like they did in their matchup against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Saturday night, the Wheat Kings just couldn't stay out of the box. Through two Memorial Cup games, the Wheat Kings have taken 11 penalties and only been able to kill off six of them.

Wheat Kings Head Coach Kelly McCrimmon called the loss "disappointing" in his post-game availability.

"We didn’t play our game tonight, we played a good team and it showed," said Wheat Kings F Tanner Kaspick in his post-game availability. 

"Now things are pretty simple, it is do or die against the Rebels so we know what we have to do Wednesday."

Red Deer will have had two full days of rest between their Sunday matchup where they beat the Huskies 5-2 and Wednesday's game against Brandon.

The Knights are completely dominant and look to be an unstoppable force in this years tournament. Led by the top line it's apparent it will be difficult for any team to beat them.

However, tonight the Knights had gotten contributions from more than just their first line as the line of Cliff Pu, Max Jones and Aaron Berisha combined for seven points.

"I think we've just been playing really good hockey," said Knights F Max Jones in his post-game availability. "Every team needs depth, you can't just rely on one line even though their point production is just ridiculous.

"Every game is different, so we just need to focus on the next one."

I am credentialed and covering the 2016 Memorial Cup in Red Deer. You can follow me on twitter here for live updates from all this year's games.

My work at this year's Memorial Cup:
Knights surge past the Rebels 6-2 in the tournament's opening game - Beer League Heroes, May 21.
Conner Bleackley shines in first game in over two months - Copper and Blue, May 21.
Should the Oilers be looking at drafting Kale Clague? - Beer League Heroes, May 22.
Rouyn-Norana Huskies fend off late storm to beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-3. - Copper and Blue, May 22
Rebels top line of Helewka, Philp and DeBrusk lead the Host squad to a 5-2 victory over the Huskies - Beer League Heroes, May 23rd
Top lines from the Knights and Rebels dominate early on in Tournament - Copper and Blue, May 23rd